One last chance for Brentford to try and get an equaliser as Raya sends it long upfield. It takes three Everton players to get it away from their own box, but they get out of their own half.
90' +2
V. Mykolenko enters the game and replaces A. Iwobi.
Final change for Everton now, and it's a defensive one as Dyche looks to see out the win. Iwobi goes off, with Mykolenko on for him.
90' +1
Into five added minutes here, and Godfrey sloppily gifts the ball back to Raya, allowing Brentford to play out from the back once more.
89'
Cross after cross is being sent into Everton's box and the hosts are scrambling to get it clear. Tarkowski throws himself in front of Dasilva's ball and during the following corner, Wissa is found offside. It gets one of the loudest cheers yet from the home crowd.
87'
And the final roll of the dice for Brentford sees Ghoddos coming on for Henry.
86'
N. Maupay enters the game and replaces D. Gray.
S. Ghoddos enters the game and replaces R. Henry.
Both sides are making another change here. First, it's Everton, with Maupay brought on for Gray.
84'
Onyeka wins a throw-in off Davies, and Pinnock puts a long one into the box. It's glanced on at the near post and Mee goes for a spectacular overhead kick on the far side, but it hits Tarkowski right in front of him.
82'
In a rare chance to get forward, Gueye finds himself unmarked as he cuts inside from the left. He decides to have a go from range but curls his shot straight into Raya's gloves.
80'
T. Davies enters the game and replaces A. Onana.
Onana has gone down and it looks like he's struggling with the facial injury he picked up at the end of the first half. He goes off to be replaced by Davies.
Minute
Description
78'
It's Onana that cheaply gives the ball away this time, and Everton just can't get out at the moment. Mbeumo slides it down the right for Schade, but he can't get away from Tarkowski.
74'
F. Onyeka enters the game and replaces C. Nørgaard.
Y. Wissa enters the game and replaces A. Hickey.
There's another double change for Brentford. Hickey is the first to make way, with Wissa replacing him.
And Norgaard is also taken off, with Onyeka on in his place.
73'
Brentford are upping the pressure once more as they win another corner. This time, Pickford does pluck it out of the air, and he gets the ball clear away.
71'
Doucoure is complaining to the referee again and he goes into the book for dissent.
70'
A. Doucouré gets yellow.
It's very crowded on the edge of Everton's box and Toney takes a tumble over Tarkowski, though there isn't much in it. They win a free-kick in the right of the D, but Toney hits the wall.
68'
Brentford are getting a lot of joy down their right at the moment and it's Janelt that lifts it into the box this time. Schade gets on the end of it, but he can't direct his header on target.
66'
Everton clear another long throw-in from Brentford, but once again, the visitors quickly win it back. Hickey tries to clip it to the unmarked Henry at the far post, but it's too close to Pickford.
64'
Hickey accidentally tripped Doucoure as he fell to ground, and the midfielder won't let him back up. His temper then boils over, and the other Everton players have to drag him away to stop him from getting into trouble.
62'
J. Dasilva enters the game and replaces M. Damsgaard.
K. Schade enters the game and replaces M. Jensen.
Brentford are making a double change as they look to get themselves back into this game. Jensen is the first to go off, with Schade on for him.
And Damsgaard is also taken off, with Dasilva replacing him.
61'
S. Coleman gets yellow.
Coleman's shot was blocked by Norgaard and the defender then slides in to stop him from breaking on the counter. The referee initially played the advantage, but now shows him a yellow card.
57'
Norgaard spins into space in the centre circle before threading it through the middle for Toney to chase. Keane reads it well to cut it out, and Mbeumo can't latch onto the clearance.
55'
Brentford are still keeping the hosts penned back, but Jensen takes a heavy touch when it's switched out to him. Gueye wins it back, and then eases the pressure on his side by earning a free-kick.
53'
Everton just can't get out of their own half at the moment, and they sloppily keep gifting it back to Brentford. Doucoure's pass goes to Jensen, but his cross is over everyone.
51'
Brentford have started the second half brightly, and Mbeumo makes a driving run down the right. He swings a good cross into the box, and Janelt is waiting at the far post, but Coleman flies forward to block it.
49'
It's another good delivery from McNeil on a free-kick on the right, and it's Keane that wins the header in the middle. He thumps it across goal, towards Doucoure, but Raya reacts quickly to get there first.
46'
Everton get us back underway for the second half!
45' +5
HALF-TIME: EVERTON 1-0 BRENTFORD.
45' +1
C. Nørgaard gets yellow.
Gray is away through the middle again, and Norgaard takes one for the team by tripping him. He picks up the first booking of the game.
41'
Brentford lose it in midfield again and Iwobi spreads it out to McNeil down the left once more. He tries to thread it through for Gray in the middle, but Pinnock stretches to block it.
39'
Coleman trips over himself during an attempted clearance and Damsgaard pops up to nick it off him. Toney darts into the box, but the cross is over everyone in the middle and doesn't trouble Everton.
37'
Brentford are still gifting possession back to Everton with some sloppy passes and Onana profits this time. His first thought is to play one down the left for Doucoure, but he can't get anywhere near it.
35'
The referee is indicating that he's not happy with Everton's time-wasting at the moment as Pickford comes forward to take a free-kick. When he eventually gets it into the box, it's cleared by Mee.
30'
SAVE! Everton just can't clear their lines as Brentford start to up the pressure once more. Toney wins it off Onana in midfield and spins before taking aim from outside the box, but Pickford gets a lot of distance on the punch.
28'
It's a strange choice from Pinnock to cross it to Mee in his own box and the power sends it bouncing off him and out for an Everton corner under no pressure. McNeil's corner is nodded down by Doucoure, but not on target.
23'
Jensen's corner is flicked away from Pickford's outstretched hands by Tarkowski and it falls to Hickey on the far side. He tries to take it past Gray, who nudges him over to prevent another cross from going in.
21'
The Everton fans aren't happy as they think that Jensen is taking too long over a throw-in. He eventually decides to put a long one into the box, but can't pick out a team-mate.
17'
It's been hard for both teams to find their rhythm so far, with a lot of fouls breaking up the play. Brentford have another free-kick which is whipped in by Jensen, but it's dealt with by Coleman.
15'
Gray wins a free-kick on the right and whips a dangerous cross into the middle of the box. Raya rushes off his line and completely misses it, but he does enough to put off Keane, who thumps his header wide of the near post.
13'
Back up the other end, Everton win a corner of their own. Gray swings it into the near post, but it's met by Pinnock, who thumps it away.
11'
Brentford try to catch out their hosts with another clever set-piece, as the corner is pulled back to Hickey on the edge of the area. He tries to loop it over the top, but there's too much on it for both Jensen and Mbeumo.
9'
Brentford are starting to find their rhythm now and they win a free-kick which is lifted to the far post for Toney. He plays it back into the middle, but Everton scramble to clear it, giving away a corner.
7'
Everton win a free-kick down the left and McNeil curls it to the far post. Tarkowski peels away to nod it back into the middle for Keane, but Pinnock gets there first to coolly nod it back to Raya.
5'
Brentford look rattled after Everton's lightning-quick start, and they can't get out of their own half. Janelt looks to send it forward for Mbeumo, who got tight instead, and it's needlessly put out of play.
3'
Everton are on the attack again here, and it's swept out to McNeil on the left once more. He swings a deep cross into the box this time, but it's too high for everyone in the middle and it harmlessly bounces out.
1'
D. McNeil has scored a goal for Everton! Assist by A. Doucouré.
Jensen gets the game underway for Brentford!
Doucoure debated having a shot when he got it out of his feet, but saw McNeil in more space, and made the right choice to square it to him.
MCNEIL SCORES! What a start for Everton! They win it back deep in their own half and Coleman hooks it upfield. Iwobi squares it to Doucoure in the middle and he gets his head up to spot McNeil to his left. He takes his shot from the edge of the box, rifling it past Raya. With just 35 seconds on the clock, it's 1-0!
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Premier League meeting between Everton and Brentford at Goodison Park!
EVERTON STARTING XI (4-5-1): Jordan Pickford; Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane, James Tarkowski, Ben Godfrey; Alex Iwobi, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Idrissa Gueye, Amadou Onana, Dwight McNeil; Demarai Gray.
EVERTON SUBS: Neal Mauay, Yerry Mina, Tom Davies, Mason Holgate, Ellis Simms, Vitalii Mykolenko, James Garner, Asmir Begovic, Conor Coady.
BRENTFORD STARTING XI (4-3-3): David Raya; Aaron Hickey, Ethan Pinnock, Ben Mee, Rico Henry; Martin Damsgaard, Christian Norgaard, Mathias Jensen; Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney, Vitaly Janelt.
BRENTFORD SUBS: Frank Onyeka, Shandon Baptiste, Kristoffer Ajer, Kevin Schade, Saman Ghoddos, Josh Dasilva, Pontus Jansson, Yoane Wissa, Matthew Cox.
The teams are out on the pitch now, with kick-off just moments away!
Everton start the day in the drop zone, only behind Leeds United on goal difference, but a win today could change that depending on results around them. Since Sean Dyche took over at the end of January, Everton have won two of their six matches (D1 L3), but both of those matches did come at home, beating both Arsenal and Leeds 1-0. Last time out, they twice took the lead against Nottingham Forest, but only came away with a point in a 2-2 draw. They face a Brentford side who are closing in on the European places. They're on the longest current unbeaten run in the league, going 12 without defeat (W6 D6), though they have drawn their last two on the road.
Dyche will be very pleased with that first-half performance, though slightly disappointed not to have a bigger lead. He'll be expecting them to keep this level after the break. Thomas Frank didn't look pleased with what he saw, and he'll be trying to instil some calm into his players for the second half.
That's all for today, goodbye!
It's a big three points for Everton as it sees them move out of the relegation zone and up to 15th. Next up for them is a trip to Chelsea. Brentford's 12-match unbeaten run is now over, and they miss the chance to close the gap to the European places. They travel to Southampton in midweek.
Commentary
More…